Songs From the Heart
by JeffC FTW
Summary: On three separate occasions, three of our favorite couples endure love confessions and pondering their futures - with songs that capture the heart and make the spirit soar. Three shot. (ItaHana, NaruHina, SasuSaku)
1. ICU And My Heart Just Stops

**Listening to coming-of-age songs from the hit TV show I've loved since I was a kid, when it first aired, Kim Possible. :D This is a three-shot, so nothing on a grandscale. Just each moment that counts in the lives of three favorite couples, set in modern day...**

 **I own neither the songs, the characters, or either fandoms of Naruto and Kim Possible. They belong to their respectful owners. Although I own Hanaru, the OC.**

Chapter One

I.C.U And My Heart Just Stops

She hadn't dressed up like a fairytale princess since she was a little girl, and that one time had been Cinderella, so now when she stood at the top of the staircase of the Uzumaki-Namikaze penthouse, it was déjà vu all over again. Both her family, the Uchiha, and several others they knew were there. And down there was also a certain someone waiting for her.

Everyone was down there for the night, because it was Halloween. Both the Uchiha and her family, being longtime friends and sometimes enemies, hosting it together. It was her job to see this responsibility. She'd raised her younger brother and managed caring for him with her job at the Uchiha business, because Fugaku and Mikoto had been friends of their parents since before they were born. That also meant she and Naruto knew the handsome Uchiha brothers for the longest time.

Sasuke Uchiha - a teenager who was in his big brother's shadow and had an attitude that made her want to slap that face much of the time. Sometimes she wondered why her brother was best friends with him, but what could she do in the end?

He was here, and in a garb that was similar to the Beast's - blue, black, white and gold accents. Beside him: Sakura Haruno, whom Naruto used to have a major crush on in middle school, was in a ballgown of wine red with a white bust. Clusters of crystal flowers in those colors cascaded around the bustier and down to the skirt; in her bubblegum-colored hair was a headband of white silk flowers with pearls and crystal red blossoms. Hanaru spited that girl at the time because of how word would reach her ear that her baby brother was mistreated by a girl he was trying so hard to care about, and her attentions were on a guy who thought she was so annoying. _And I wonder why he even thought to be friends with her after he accepted her "feelings" for Sasuke._

If you asked her, the best girl for her baby brother was Hinata, the girl who was three years her junior like Naruto, but all of them had been close for as long as Hanaru could remember. There was her brother dressed up like a ninja - a cute, blond one at that - in black beside the holiday bride herself in her corset gown of black over purple, vines also crawling around the chest and below, sparkling with amethyst gems. Black flowers gathered all over the hem of the billowing gown. Accenting her lavender-tinted raven hair was a crown of purple flowers on either side, the circlet itself silver filigree and centered with a smoky amethyst.

Both couples were happy to see her - well, the majority excluding Sasuke who only tolerated her as she did the same to him - and she greeted them all with a small embrace before wishing them to have the best Halloween...even though Minato, Kushina, Fugaku and Mikoto would be missed.

They deserved to be here.

But then she saw HIM standing there when she was done greeting much of everyone. At the same time, the dancing and the passing of finger foods would begin.

He was in a long dress coat of black with red and gold accents - like a vampire lord in western culture. Long black hair framing the side of his face and tied below the back of his neck, even though she couldn't see it from where she was standing, but it was his signature he never parted with. His eyes appeared dark and cold, but shining with a warmth she'd known since childhood.

He was the picture of a girl's sexual fantasy in Gothic romance: dark, mysterious and addictive.

But there was one problem. She wanted so long to tell him how she felt about him after all the years of knowing him. Working for him since her parents died, then his to follow after the murder-suicide. It was hard on him and Sasuke as it was for her and Naruto. All of them had been through thick and thin, so it was natural that she would develop these feelings.

But would he return them?

She was anxious about the results. He made it clear he cared about her, but they'd been friends much of their lives. Would he want to make that into something...complicated?

 _Feelings are wonderful...but why do so many break up these days because they either tried too hard or tried less?_

A few strands of curls from her updo were about her face, and she pushed them aside. It was within a delicate golden mesh of jewels in shades of blue and clear, but some of her mane was too stubborn to stay in place. His piercing onyx eyes watched her action as if it were more attractive than anything else.

Her heart just about stopped in its tracks when he started walking her way.

~o~

He knew her since they were young, but then years later, both their parents were killed. Hers in an accident, his via murder-suicide which left his brother traumatized as much as he had been. Sometimes he hated Fugaku for doing that to his own sons; why would he do such a thing?

The police could never think of a good motive, unless their mother tried to leave him and it was in vain. Sometimes Itachi couldn't understand, after all these years. When he confided in Hanaru, she was just as devastated - and pissed off which was an understatement. When she was mad beyond the limits, she would say she would want to deliver a punch or a kick to the balls to her liking. She had a foul temper on her mother and grandmother's sides. She wasn't like the other girls who fawned over him and his brother.

When she was left in charge of caring for her brother who was still in high school and she was still in college, he offered her a job within his family's corporation. She was his assistant, but now something complicated was arising within himself that he doubted she noticed, and tonight had only gotten stronger.

He was certain they were feelings for Hanaru Uzumaki, now that he saw her on Halloween tonight, which was usually hosted by her parents, but they were gone now. She was in charge, and it couldn't have been easy for her. Yet she managed to care for herself, her brother as well as their penthouse which had been their parents'.

It hadn't been easy for him managing his younger brother while also running the family corps. In fact, he and Sasuke weren't as close as they used to be. _Otouto_ had a girlfriend now in the form of Sakura, who made him very happy by the looks of it, and who was working to get into medical school and then her man would work beside his brother - but first he was going to start low and work his way up. That was how it was; if you wanted to be on top, you had to earn it.

On second thought, Itachi wanted something better for his brother than wanting to be like him. This field was asking too much of him. Sasuke, by his standards no matter how much he'd grown up, was still the child he cradled when he first came into the world. Which beyond infuriated the younger.

Sasuke, no matter all the years of "knowing" Hanaru, never showed immense care and was thus forced to tolerate her. Although, he wasn't volatile to lash out against his best friend's sister.

And his attention tonight was on her right after she greeted and was greeted by her side of the family and his - and he saved himself for last, because he wanted to tell her how he felt. Although he was anxious, because it could do something to their friendship and working relationship that he didn't wish...

...and on occasion, he would see that twinkle in her eye his mother used to talk about. The one she said that a girl would have for the one she loved. That alone sparked some hope.

To see her at the top of the stairs in that gown, regal as a princess in western fairytales, in gold swagged with royal blue around the skirt which was also tiered with pearls; royal blue and creamy flowers also decorated the top of the corset. She wasn't a princess really, not the sense that a young girl would think was simply handed to them just because they wished it - but the one who was unaware that she was appreciated enough to deserve the title.

If they'd been in a simple fantasy world, he'd be the king and she his queen. He'd gladly take that opportunity in a heartbeat.

She was alone and without a dance partner, and so was he. Which was why they stood before each other, black eyes peering into blue. All the while, the song in the background began, and it seemed to have been made just for them.

 _I can't believe the way I fell for you_

 _I took one look and you were all I knew_

 _I'm just so taken with you day and night_

 _And in between, I only see your light_

They could have said hello to each other, but why was it necessary? He just held his hand out to her, and she put hers into it. She accepted without words. He led her out there, her hips gently swaying against his that it was electrifying.

Why was it hard to speak now? _Mother said it's difficult to form words when your soul connects._

Hanaru looked up at him with wide eyes shining the way he always knew them to.

 _It's the way that you touch every part of me_

 _It's the way that you get in the heart of me_

 _It's the things that you do when you hold me close_

 _It's the things I become every night our love grows_

All the things that she did...it was purely simple just by being with him. She then surprised him by leaning into him, burying her face into the space where his neck and shoulder met, unable to make skin contact with him because of his jacket in the way.

 _I see you and my heart just stops_

 _Just one look and I'm with an angel_

 _I see you and I see my world_

 _Every time that you hold me, girl_

 _I see you and my heart_

 _My heart just stops_

"Hanaru, please, don't cry," he urged, putting one hand on her back and the other on her soft chin, raising her face to meet his. She never wore makeup, so nothing smeared on her fair skin. Her eyes were glistening with tears she was struggling to keep in, and one slid down her right cheek. They were a myriad of pain, fright, and the one that he only anxiously waited for.

If he could only remove that hairpiece and let her red-gold curls fall down her back, to illuminate that emotion brighter than it was now. She was too beautiful to need something like this adorning her nature.

 _I lose my breath when you walk in the room_

 _Like when an angel calls your name too soon_

 _And when you touch me, I just lose control_

 _'Cause when I hold you, I can see your soul_

He really had to hear it from her now, because if she was unable to keep her emotions in anymore, it had to be now and worry about the rest later. That included their positions at the office. "Hana-chan, please talk to me," he coaxed, nobody hearing except the two of them.

 _In my mind, I just go where it's me and you_

 _In your arms, I just know where we're going to_

 _In my heart, I can feel every crazy beat_

 _And I'm lost in your eyes every time our eyes meet_

She cracked then and there just as the part that meant the most within the song returned.

"I...I love you, Itachi."

 _I see you and my heart just stops_

 _Just one look and I'm with an angel_

 _I see you and I see my world_

 _Every time that you hold me, girl_

 _I see you and my heart_

 _my heart just -_

 _Stop me if I'm going under_

 _Take me all the way with you_

 _Heaven is the place you take me to_

She said the words - the words which sealed it all - and he bowed his head down to kiss her. Nothing else mattered: not their brothers, not any eye witnesses who were gawking at the scene. Nobody was in his world except her.

 **The song itself appeared in a snippet at the end of "Crush", early in season one of Kim Possible. It takes my breath away still. :'3 I was crying when I finished this.**

 **Review please. :D**


	2. Could It Be

**This song apparently has as much meaning because at the end of season 3 of Kim Possible, the titular heroine and her best friend/sidekick became a real couple. It was also sung by Christy Romano, who voiced Kim. :'D**

Chapter Two

Could It Be

She really was afraid, as she put on the sample of one of the dresses that she took from the rack, and Sakura insisted that the night would be THE night - and not only was it the dance of the final year, but the one that mattered above all else.

"I mean, Sasuke and I are going to make it count. After ten years since kindergarten, we've hit it off strong," the pinkette was telling her as they were in the changing rooms at the boutique. "But you and Naruto - you've been best friends for forever, but you haven't even told him how you felt, because why? You need to have more confidence!"

She'd been told to have more confidence for years, but how could she? Naruto really cared about her, but did he love her? She had no idea why it was so hard, but it just was. He was also the brother of her best friend who was three years her senior.

Hanaru never seemed to judge her when she would talk about her feelings for her brother. But she didn't encourage her either. She simply smiled and listened. Why couldn't her best friend just tell her what to do and make things easy - or why couldn't she tell Naruto for her?

 _Those are the coward's words._

Her father hardly cared what she did with her life anymore - in fact, she couldn't remember the last time he smiled warmly at her following the death of her mother.

Sakura stepped out from behind her door, showing one choice for the prom. "Well, what do you think?" It was burgundy to make her hair and eyes pop, the lace bodice lined with the same fabric as the spandex skirt which touched her ankles. She was very sweet and lovely. "I think Sasuke could let his jaw drop..." Then she frowned, brows furrowing together. "Although, I feel like I am too casual because of how it feels. What about you, Hinata?" she asked lightly, and the Hyuuga stepped out to show hers.

Light baby blue, fitted to her body and flaring at the waist. It was modest with short sleeves and beaded all over. Except she knew what Sakura felt with this one especially.

Jury's final decision: they both looked like they were going to a charity or cocktail party instead of the final biggest moment of their high school lives. It had to be something more special...

~o~

The second he saw this in refrigerated display, he knew it was perfect for Hinata. It was simple, youthful and stunning, according to the saleslady. The flowers were white roses, numbered to five - with two being only buds on the verge of blooming - on a cuff made of pearls.

"She's going to love it, _otouto_ ," his sister told him that night which finally came. He'd been anxious about this for _months_ \- more than he had been for Halloween when he saw her in that gown. He didn't know how to describe it, but these sensations every time he saw his lifelong best friend who was also his sister's had begun to increase more and more lately. It was so embarrassing to want to talk to Hanaru about this.

But tonight was prom, one month before graduation. This was so important that he wanted it to be perfect. And his big sister was really insisting that he make damned sure that it was.

"Finally time," Hanaru said happily as she tied his bow beneath his collar herself. Naruto wrinkled his nose at the smell of what he recognized as her new perfume. When she bought it, she asked for his personal opinion because she really wanted Itachi to enjoy it on their next date - which was tonight. Since Halloween, she and Sasuke's older brother were really serious. And about time they were, after all these years. He never hated the oldest and one of the last of the Uchiha, but the guy was distant emotionally much of his life.

Was he going to move in with his _nee-chan_ while he and Sasuke went to get their own place at the university in Tokyo? He didn't want to think about it, not even the unwanted images about his sister and her boyfriend of seven months.

Hanaru also never said anything about her job, but it looked like she was waiting for her brother to get out of the house before she and Itachi really got serious. That was often a problem when boss and employee got in a relationship; it was a challenge keeping pleasure and business on opposite but balanced sides. Except he knew his sister well that she never jeopardized anything - just like she didn't want to quit her job or even change careers for both sakes of her brother and her boyfriend, the latter whom she worked for.

Anyway, back to her and the perfume which had a big part in tonight. Her dress was royal blue, which was one of her favorite colors, and it had a small V-neck as well as a side slit on the left, with earrings looking like vivid yellow orchids. His mouth watered now at the delicious combination she told him was in: wild strawberries, pomegranate, red orchids - _orchids don't smell, so why do they bother mentioning that?_ \- gardenias, lotus, and hinoki wood.

"Does that mean you get to tell Hinata how you feel?"

He almost dropped the flowers in their plastic box, and looked at her, shocked. She...what was she asking him? How he FELT? Was it what his sister and Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura had? The rest of their friends? Naruto didn't give love much thought because he always felt so awkward about something like that, but there were times Hinata would blush tomato red even though they knew each other all their lives. But the downside: he heard love could lead to trouble over big and small things, made you do stupid stuff you never thought you would. "I..." Naruto felt like the much dumber kid he was in middle school and below. She laughed and gently slapped him on his back.

"Naruto, your big sister notices everything, remember? Maybe I agree with Sakura for once that you could be so dense sometimes. You haven't noticed that you and Hinata have something more than just friendship? Maybe you haven't, but she has. I know my girl that well. You got to realize it, because love isn't something you control or see right in your face. I've been there, only I was afraid to tell Itachi - until last Halloween," she said with a wink.

 _Okay...maybe there is something between me and Hinata, but how do I ask her at the dance without jeopardizing our friendship, making it awkward and uncomfortable that I'll never see her again in college? That would mean the end of it all..._

He planned to ask for Sasuke's opinion when he came in that limo they both rented for the night.

When he finally did, Hanaru once again wished him luck and then went off to wait for Itachi. When _teme_ noticed, wearing a black and white tux like him, he smirked to one corner of his mouth. "That red face of yours says it all, loser," he said. "But I know just what you should do when you tell her..."

Wow, people really read into him well tonight, did they? But if Naruto really had to know if he and Hinata really were in love equally, then he wanted it done tonight before they all went their separate ways after graduation and summer.

Naruto looked down at Sasuke's hands, which held a corsage for Sakura: white orchids freckled internally with dark red, on a swirling silver cuff.

Sasuke's advice was all he needed, and then they arrived at Sakura's, seeing her there surprisingly with Hinata, and he might have been drooling on the floor of the limo - thank God it wasn't on his tux - at his girl in that dress. Her hair was sweetly curled and pinned behind her head, and the dress was versatile, accentuating her nicely; the bust was blue satin and finished with a black midriff and a skirt paneled in shades of midnight. Silver vines embroidered around the bust and waist. Black gloves reached her elbows.

Sakura was all fresh for spring, the opposite of her man with the attitude that first drew her to him, in pale green organza and tulle, the bodice strapless and ruched; life-like butterflies in every color scattered from top to bottom. Sasuke was speechless and unblinking.

 _Well, that's us both tonight. I think I'll have a hard time talking to her tonight._

~o~

Prom she had been to before, this being a second time. And the final time. She felt beautiful in her dress, and Naruto's eyes took every inch of her in. It made her feel special. "Oh, you really look amazing." That was what he always said, like last Halloween, and he hardly said anything new. He was still awkward in so many ways. Some things about a person never changed.

But they understood each other very well.

The drive in the limo was comfortable, but there wasn't much of anything new to say. They all knew each other all their lives - but after this month and then summer, they would go separate ways. Sakura was off to medical school, Sasuke and Naruto in Tokyo to do whatever they could with their lives as free men, but that meant they would still be faithful to their girls - and Hinata would be here because she still loved Konoha. It was home; Sakura was staying here for that reason.

These days, women had to have identities of their own, but home was also where the heart was. She could transfer one day to Tokyo if she wanted to, but would she really be happy away from home?

Either way, she wanted to tell Naruto tonight, but how? Sakura said that she had to just put her big girl pants on, not to be mean.

Naruto putting that corsage on her wrist in the car - the beautiful, pure white roses sweetly scented - made her resolve stronger, and she knew one perfect way, and it involved a song that Sakura had played for Sasuke which brought them together, changing his opinion of the annoying pink-haired girl she used to be.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, more confused than irritable that she was leaving him only for a moment. He was heading out to the punch table when they just arrived, whilst their friends went off to mingle with the others who were dressed in their finery.

"Hinata!" Kiba said, being the DJ tonight, baring his canines. "Well, don't you look like a goddess tonight. Naruto is a lucky bastard, and I envy him."

"Yes, thank you, Kiba. I have a song request to make for you...and it's for Naruto and me, but it has to also be for everyone else..."

~o~

 _"She might have it in herself to make the first move, with a surprise song to ask the DJ, like Sakura did to me - or I could be wrong and it's something else. Just wait and see, but if nothing happens, it's up to you, Naruto."_

He was going to do what Sasuke said then, and if nothing happened, he would man up and ask Hinata flat out.

He thought of getting Hinata a drink first and then they would sit down and talk before they danced, but then she had to tell him she wanted to have a word with Kiba, tonight's DJ. _Oh, I think it's happening after all!_ He didn't know what to say, so he just let her.

And what he heard as soon as she returned to him at their assigned table, he almost jumped when she pulled him to his feet and led him out to the dancefloor. They got into the position the other couples, including Sakura and Sasuke, were in.

 _I know we've been friends forever_

 _But now I think I'm feeling something totally new_

 _And after all this time, I opened up my eyes_

 _Now I see you were always with me_

"H-Hinata, does this mean what I think it is?" he whispered, his throat dry as if parched. _It's the one Sakura played for Sasuke and herself...did she put Hinata up for this?_

She nodded, looking into his eyes; he could clearly see the stars sparkling in them which reflected the very words of the song that SHE requested to play - as it did the same to the others around them. "This song is my way of saying how I have felt for you all these years, but I was too...shy to tell you myself," she whispered. "I really wanted to for a long time, and I want no regrets. I sometimes fear that it could change as time went on..." Now her face fell at the fear of the future to come, when they would go their separate ways.

But the way he was seeing it was this: if the heart's feelings were as strong as she believed - as everyone else they loved believed it was - then why should distance change that?

 _Could it be you and I_

 _Never imagined_

 _Could it be suddenly I'm fallin' for you_

 _Could it be you were right here beside me_

 _And I never knew_

 _Could it be that it's true_

 _That it's you, that it's you_

Naruto put both his hands on either side of her face and leaned closer to touch his nose against hers. His face was burning to the surface, but not as much as he could see she was. He understood it all, and he'd been too dense and hesitant because he had little experience with this stuff, and what he thought he had for Sakura was just a crush that got him hurt by someone who had eyes on another -

\- but it had been _her_ all along.

 _It's kinda funny you were always near_

 _But who would ever thought that we'd end up here_

 _And every time I needed you, you've been there for me_

 _So now it's clear I've been waiting for you_

She took a gasp for air when she gently pulled back and looked at him with swollen pink lips. He was sure his was the same. _Big sister, Sasuke, Sakura, all of you - you were right. This feeling...it's stronger than I thought it would be. And she's willing to accept me instead of punching me over the littlest compliments. She patiently waited for me all this time._

"Naruto, you really...?" Her loss of words confirmed everything.

"Yeah, Hinata," he answered, "I really love you and want you forever, even if we spent as much time apart. It's not going to fade on my watch. I swear it!"

 _'Cause today is the start of the rest of our lives_

 _I can see it in your eyes_

 _Oh, but it's real, and it's true_

 _And it's just me and you_

 _Could it be that it's you_

 **I really felt in tears when I did this. I mean, it's homage to Kim and Ron, after years of being friends when he was the first to realize the depth of his feelings. Kim had been interested in someone else (who wasn't all he seemed) before she finally opened her eyes in the heat of battle with her arch nemesis and his sidekick whom she did the majority of the show.**

 **The moment where Hinata asks Kiba to play the song for her and Naruto - and everyone else - was based off of a similar moment where Monique asks the DJ to play a song for Kim and Monty Fiske (the fic was "A Dance to Remember" by arashi wolf princess).**

 **I know this ends similarly to the last chapter, has a similar scenario, but it's also different. And no regrets. :')**


	3. This is Our Year

**ENJOY THE FINAL CHAPTER AND REVIEW. :D**

Chapter Three

This is Our Year

They were all up on that podium on this day that didn't seem like it would ever come, but it had been inevitable. He had to make up for not always being there as a brother, on important days - but Hanaru insisted on him dragging his ass out here. _Her choice of words, not mine,_ he thought with a chuckle.

Sasuke hardly ever exchanged words with him anymore whenever he was home, so he took care of himself when _aniki_ wasn't around. This made Itachi guilty despite knowing he did the best he could to double as brother and father since their parents' deaths.

It was also on this day that he decided to have his chance with the ring that he purchased online he was sure was for her, being real and won on a bid in a heartbeat. It was this jewel that signified everything that marriage was and wasn't between dearly beloveds.

 _Marriage is not simply about honeymoons, lavish gifts of affection, or even the big day itself. It's a journey including one day at a time. You never know what is ahead, but you have the choice to make it enjoyable._

That was what they had done together in the last eight months since the start of their relationship after Halloween. They took one day at a time, but at the same time, there wasn't much effort. He knew she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The band was subtly ornate with many small diamonds, but the center attraction itself was a brilliant three carats to make it lush enough and appear on that beautiful, dainty finger of hers.

He was certain she would say yes, so today would be ideal while their brothers would go out with their girlfriends and friends to celebrate their exit from one life and into another - another with greater challenges and changes ahead.

The names had been thus far: Shino Aburame, Choji Akimichi - and then Sakura, who was heading off to medical school but was staying here in Konoha rather than going off to Tokyo with Sasuke. _Absence makes the heart fonder...and a wise choice to be separate rather than together and letting emotions cloud your judgment._

His wonderful, loving girlfriend was wiping her eyes when Hinata and Neji's names both came next. What her best friend and Naruto's brand new girlfriend was going to do with her life was to come and work for him in Hanaru's stead as soon as it was finalized that Naruto would move out and take care of himself in the capital.

To follow were the dog boy Inuzuka and energetic Rock Lee, followed by Shikamaru Nara who was valedictorian...ending with _both their brothers_ and Ino Yamanaka.

He and Hanaru both held hands and took the pictures of Sasuke and Naruto, the latter hollering with joy whilst remaining in his place. _But our parents should have been here to share it with us._

When everyone was off the stage, the hats - maroon as their robes - were thrown into the air and the fun was going to begin the rest of the day and maybe into the night.

 _This is our year_

 _This is our game_

 _It's our turn to make a change_

 _Come on, come on, let's shout it out:_

 _This is our year!_

~o~

Naruto, Sasuke, the girls and on were finally out of Konoha High School, and while she was happy for them, Hanaru had to say she was a little sad, because her younger brother was going to leave her all alone. She had no one to wake up to in the house anymore, but that also left an opportunity for another to move in with her, or she could move in with him.

She and Itachi talked about living together after their brothers left for college, and now it arrived. It had been several months of planning, but it still felt like it was too suddenly. _How time flies._

 _Today is the very first day_

 _Of all of our tomorrows_

 _Don't look back_

 _'Cause we're gonna have a good time_

 _Let start right now!_

 _And shout it out LOUD!_

She had done everything she could to raise Naruto, give him everything he needed, but he never depended on her for anything. He really was a hell of an impression, her little brother! She couldn't have been proud of him. He was laidback and enjoyed life, but he needed to decide his course sooner or later. He deserved a career that gave him something for himself.

That also meant he and Hinata would be separated for some time. But if she knew them both, she doubted things would be over for them THAT easily.

Sasuke and Sakura? There was a chance the pinkette might decide she wanted more and relocate to Tokyo, because she wasn't the useless, annoying girl who used to slap Hanaru's brother because he crushed on her. She wasn't one of those fangirls who relentlessly pursued Sasuke, but understood him better than anyone else after taking the time to get to know him rather than an ideal like girls that age would have.

Just like when Hanaru stopped thinking about Itachi that way and got to know him while working for him.

Now that Naruto was going away with Sasuke, she would have to look for another job without breaking her and Itachi's relationship. It had gone well since they first hit it off, but there was no telling how much longer it would last.

In light of approaching graduation day, Hanaru found herself looking at bridal magazines in case Itachi was going to pop the question she was ready to receive from him. These two she saw only in pictures looked like top contenders, and her mother and future mother-in-law weren't even here to share it with her, which broke her heart. She reached to wipe a tear from her eye as well as swallowed the clench in her throat. _Mom...Mikoto..._

One was western-like traditional and sweet, made up of lace and consisting of a plunging V-neckline, delicate cap sleeves and a small train resembling a calla lily. The other was a modern lace version of a kimono in that it was strapless and had detachable bell sleeves.

She really had no idea which was best, but they both looked more promising than any ballgown a little girl could dream of for a fairytale princess wedding. This was her and Itachi in reality, not just herself.

And now on the day which was graduation day, she and Itachi were at their favorite outdoor café, next to the tea stand, and it was over dumplings that he finally brought up the subject while their brothers were out with their friends and girlfriends. _Grown up and taking care of themselves. I bet Mom and Dad would have felt like this if they were still here._

There was Itachi, handsome and sexy in his gauzy white shirt opened down by three buttons to show some of his muscled chest, and his jeans hugging nicely without constricting. Her sundress was baby blue, strapless and trimmed with crochet at the waist and hem.

"This means we can finally start planning what we talked about," Itachi told her, reaching over and taking her hand into his, smiling kindly. Just as he always did to her which swept her off her feet. She loved him for that. "And there is something I have been waiting to ask you all this time..."

 _Oh, no, you don't need to say it. I can see it in your eyes._ She might have blurted it out in a heartbeat, making him blink with surprise.

"My answer is yes, Itachi," she said. He chuckled.

"Saying yes when I haven't even shown you what it looks like." And with that, he produced the ring in the black box from his pocket. The big diamond looked like it was three carats, set on a vintage band etched with several smaller ones, like stars across the sky. It was everything the ring for the rest of your life would be.

Could she have asked for anything better?! Hanaru threw herself across the table and put her lips on his, unafraid to smother him with her love - but not before she accepted that perfect fit on her finger.

~o~

Night fell and they were all continuing the celebrating at the beach. Bonfires lit, great food served thanks to Choji's family and the staff at the grill, and all free in beachwear. There was no limit to tonight's festivities.

 _Stand up!_

 _Stand up!_

 _Shout it out!_

 _Shout it out!_

 _We're the ones!_

 _We're the ones!_

 _It's all about!_

 _It's all about!_

Now, was this the life? Shikamaru, Neji, Ino, Sai and the lot? And to top it all, Gaara had come all the way out from home just to witness his receiving of the diploma.

They played volleyball on the beach, danced to the music and passed out leis to everyone. Naruto bowed his head so he could accept his from Hinata, who was in a swimsuit which was a black one-piece trimmed with white. And Sakura was in a red halter top that covered her midriff, paired with black shorts.

From afar, she was getting a box of sweets from the stand, only to turn around and face Sasuke, who had leaned down and whispered something into her ear, and it was enough to make her blush, before pulling back and leaning down to kiss her cheek. It caused her to nearly drop the box. _Bastard, you still know how to make her weak for you!_ He couldn't help but snicker to himself, and Hinata looked up at him sweetly.

"Naruto? It looks like us while we separate."

She'd said that though they were going to be apart for at least two years, their affection was going to last on their watches. They had been like this since prom, and it was the last time, but they also had summer to enjoy more of each other. His sister wasn't going to mind, at all, because she trusted him more than their late worrywart mother used to. Not that he hated Kushina while she was alive.

Just look at the other couples around them, either making it work despite distance, choosing to stick together and making it through life, and others just discovering new loves or parting:

Sasuke and Sakura fit in the first category. To follow were Ino and Sai. Then was Shikamaru as it looked like he was just hooking up with Gaara's sister, Temari. And by the looks of Neji and Tenten, they had been together for some time and appeared to be ending it because of their different paths to take...which showed a light in Lee's eyes, as he had been in love with his classmate Tenten for a long time, but she saw him as just a friend. It looked like he had his chance to grow up with her.

Finally, other classmates and peers were people they didn't know too well and simply worked on it. Naruto was not being mean, but he was saying that their choices were their own, whether to involve others or not.

 _This is our year_

 _This is our game_

 _It's our turn to make a change_

 _Come on, come on, let's shout it out:_

 _This is our year!_

Hinata came behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, as his reminder the world was never at an end even if someone predicted it would be. Even if it did end, his friends all had their significant others tonight - and he had this wonderful girl. And his sister had her man elsewhere.

 **The ring Itachi gave his beloved is the "Dearly Beloved" bridal set from Stauer. :D Information and all.**

 **Since we had no last name AT ALL for Tenten, it was a hell of a struggle where to put her alphabetically in the list of those graduating. :(**

 **When Kim Possible came to a close in 2007, in the finale episode, this song was a hell of a hit and a grand way to close a beloved Disney series. Nostalgic!**


End file.
